


Weighty Ghost

by awwwhawkeyeno



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Danny takes care of Steve, Hawaii Five-O - Freeform, Hurt Steve McGarrett, M/M, just a scene I imagined in my head
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-01 16:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12708357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awwwhawkeyeno/pseuds/awwwhawkeyeno
Summary: Steve is hurting and Danny (and Grace) are there to make it better.





	1. A Bad Day

Steve McGarrett doesn’t always have good days, but today he was having an especially bad one. It was a beautiful day in Hawaii, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, and no one needed the Hawaii Five-O task force urgently. Commander McGarrett had just finished de-briefing his team about the Op that they had taken charge of yesterday. They had done their job perfectly, which made Steve feel especially proud of his ohana – his family. The Commander was now en-route to his office, where he could be alone at last. 

Steve had been trying to hide this feeling of crippling emotion that was starting to eat at him, he knew tonight was not going to be particularly pleasant for him. He could feel his chest starting to tighten and thoughts of his now long deceased father coming flooding back to him. The dam was beginning to crack. He could physically and mentally feel this thing coming on and he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop it. Which lead him to be pretty brief with his team because he desperately wanted to retreat back to his office – one of his “safe places” – so that he could be alone. When he reached his office in record time, he was relieved to find it empty and still dark from when he last left. The Commander opened the door quietly, flicked on the lights and took a deep, shaky breath. He knew that whatever was making his chest tight and his mind spin was going to attack soon and he needed to be alone when it did. No use having the team see my moment of weakness Steve thought as he closed the blinds to his office so that passers-by couldn’t see him having a breakdown. He sat down at his desk, and pulled out his phone to check his messages when it all started. It’s like he was transported back to the moment his dad called him, he was forced to relive the worst few minutes of his life. He had to feel the fear all over again, never mind the anguish of losing his dad – having to hear his last breath. Steve couldn’t bear to do this, again.

But what Steve didn’t know was that his partner, Detective Danny Williams was also en-route to his office with concerns of his own. Danny noticed that the Commander’s blinds were shut as soon as his office came into view, which worried him even more than the de-briefing he was subjected to. Cautiously, he knocked on Steve’s door before opening it because he wasn’t sure what he was going to find on the other side. What he did see when he slowly opened the door was his partner sitting perfectly still while staring at his phone that was clutched tightly in his hand. Danny noticed that Steve looked pale, clammy and scared out of his mind. After observing his partner for a few more seconds to assess that he was still breathing, Danny decided to say something – anything – to break whatever trance Steve was in right now. 

“Hey Babe.” The detective spoke quietly, still intently watching the Commander. Danno was weary of putting a hand on Steve to try and snap him out of this because he’d seen exactly what the Super SEAL was capable of and did not want to have that happen to him under any circumstances. The detective stood there for a moment longer weighing up his options because if he couldn’t get through to the Commander then who could? Just as he was about to turn around to leave, Steve blinked rapidly a few times and then leaned back in his chair with an giant exhale. Steve seemed to look alright for the moment, and so Danny sat down in the chair on the other side of Steve’s desk. They both sat there quietly for a few moments until Danny just couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“You alright?” Danny asked cautiously.

It was a short, to the point question and he hoped that Steve was in the present enough to answer it. A few moments passed, and then a full minute and Steve still didn’t answer. Steve’s movements were slow, but he finally seemed to focus his eyes and angle his body towards Danny, and put his phone facedown on his desk. 

McGarrett takes a deep breath in, and says “Yeah. I’m fine Danny. I’m okay. I’m okay.” He whispers to reassure himself more than anything. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Danny inquired while leaning forward, closer to Steve to try and anchor him in the present and to able to hear what the Super SEAL had to say for himself. 

In response, Steve leaned back so that his office chair scooted back a bit, planted his feet on the ground, and put his elbows on his desk with his hands holding up his head. With a heavy sigh, and closed eyes because he hated himself for what he was about to do. He didn’t want to upset Danno, but he needed him to understand that he wanted to – no needed to - be alone for a while he faced whatever was inside his head. 

“Look, Danny. I get that you’re trying to help and all, but just leave me alone alright? You can’t help me, not right now, not tomorrow. Just leave me alone.” He warned, with a dangerously sharp tone to his words.

Danny leaned back into his chair in response to the verbal blow he was just dealt, but also to think about his options for this conversation. He could argue with Steve (which was a terrible idea) or he could just get up and walk away – which was an even worse idea because he couldn’t let Steve get what he wanted not when what he needs is just the opposite. And so, Danny decided on something different. He sighed audibly and pushed himself off of the chair, and looked down at his partner who still hasn’t lifted his head from the desk. 

“Go home, McGarrett. Nothing’s happening around here anyway,” Danno said sternly and in his best “Dad” voice he could muster, “Go home and get some rest. Seriously.” Repeated Steve’s partner to ensure the message was crystal clear. Then, Danny turned around and walked out of the office without another word.

As soon as Steve heard the door click, he lifted his head while heaving another heavy sigh and lifted himself from his office chair. He grabbed his phone as he was walking around his desk, and checked the time while it’s in his hand. 2:11 pm. Steve kept walking, and at the door he flicked off the lights to his office and left. He walked out of headquarters without a word to anyone. He was bound and determined to sleep this one off, so he planned to put on a movie when he got home. Steve McGarrett didn’t need anyone to baby him, he was Navy Seal who dealt with tougher situations in the past. He can get through this. By himself. 

Steve headed home, his movements were automatic. He got out of his truck, walked up the steps to his house and unlocked the door. He did these things out of muscle memory, while in his mind he was everywhere except for his home. He hovered just outside of house for a minute, just staring at the slightly darker outline of his living room furniture, and begrudgingly decided to head inside. 

The Commander went straight for his favourite couch which was placed strategically in front of the big screen TV so that it could be seen from any angle. He sat down with a grunt, but then realized how comfy his precious couch was. After sitting for a minute, he bent over to unlace his tan combat boots because he loved those things more than he liked people sometimes. He moved his boots aside so that he wouldn’t trip on them later and grabbed the remote that was resting on the cushion beside him. Steve flipped on the TV and chose to watch the first movie that he saw listed on the guide. Ironically, it was a movie called The Hurt Locker, but it would have to do for now. He didn’t end up really watching what was happening in the movie instead he was busy re-living the terrible memories of his father again, he was feeling the anger and frustration he felt upon first returning home, before he met Danny.  
***  
Steve McGarrett lost track of time, where he was and nearly who he was. He looked relaxed sitting on the couch, but up close it was obvious that he was in pain. His eyes were distant, muscles taut and his breathing was shallow. The next time that Steve remembered glancing around his house, the movie was done and some terrible commercial was on advertising non-stick grills. Steve was about to grab the remote to change the channel when there was a knock at the door. Normally, he would be cautious when hearing a knock on the door, but tonight he didn’t care because if someone was here to kill him, he wouldn’t object to it. At least he wouldn’t have to keep reliving all of the bad things that had been happening to him for the past ten years. 

Steve got up slowly and padded over to the door and opened it just a crack, just in case it was a telemarketer or someone he didn’t want to see. To his surprise he set his eyes on Gracie, holding cookies which meant that Danno was there as well. He groaned inwardly. 

“Hi Gracie.” Steve said softly while opening the door to invite her in. “Hi Uncle Steve!” Gracie beamed and she rushed past him to put her cookies in the kitchen. Steve still lingered in the door way waiting for Danny to get to the front door, he had the smallest of smiles on his face thanks to Gracie. Danny came up to the door and smiled at his partner, and put an hand on his shoulder. Danny looked right into Steve’s eyes. “Hope you don’t mind that we invited ourselves over for dinner. We didn’t think you’d mind, and I also brought my awesome lasagna that you love so much.” 

Danny was happy to see that Steve was still in one piece, and not barricaded in his room or something worse that he just couldn’t bear to think about. Steve didn’t reply with words, but instead stepped back and stretched his arm out to welcome his friend into his home. Danny smiled and let himself in, thinking that Steve’s place was like a second home to him and Grace already. Steve closed the front door, locked it and headed back to his spot on the couch. He could hear Gracie and Danny talking in the kitchen about something, but he wasn’t sure what. Gracie seemed excited about something, Steve thought. 

A couple of minutes pass, and Steve loses himself in memories once more. He’s startled when he feels someone sit beside him on the couch, he jumps because the person actually managed to genuinely surprise him. He turns his head to see that it’s Gracie, and he’s instantly relieved.

Grace, on the other hand is concerned about her Uncle Steve because she’s never seen him this bad before. He’s always so tough and is never scared by anything, ever. She decided a while ago that she’s going to help him out. “Would you like to hear about my day at school today, Uncle Steve?” she offered while scooting closer to him. Steve simply made eye-contact with Gracie and she knew that was her cue. She starts talking away, figuring that if anything she’ll distract him from whatever is going on inside of his big, scary head.  
Danny walks into the living room after he’s finished setting the table for when the lasagna is heated up. He’s happy to hear and see Gracie chattering away to Steve, it almost looks like he’s enjoying it too. Steve’s eyes are bright, and he’s nodding along to Grace’s story, it looks like his little girl is magical when it comes to Steve and his bad days. Danny stands there and watches for just a moment more before walking around to the other side of the couch and sitting down himself. Although he’s already had the full rundown on Grace’s day, it’s nice to see how much it’s helping Steve too.

Danny is mostly listening to what Grace is telling Steve, but he’s also compiling a list of things in his head that will help Steve get back to functional as soon as possible. So far it goes like this: 1. Bring Grace to see him. 2. Make him dinner (preferably lasagne). 3. Let Grace take him outside to build sandcastles. He’s still working on the next step when the timer goes off on the oven, signalling that dinner is ready. 

Danny gets up from the couch and heads to the kitchen first. Then, Grace jumps up and starts moving to the kitchen but then remembers that Steve needs help too. Grace, the angel that she is offers her hand to Steve to help him get up. Danny is just standing back up from getting the lasagne from the oven and beginning to move to the table when he sees Grace come into the kitchen holding Steve’s hand. Danny places the lasagne down on the table and sits, and so do the other two. 

Danny begins serving lasagne, while Grace motors off to get drinks for everyone and Steve just watches. “I hate seeing you this way, big guy.” Danny says quietly while serving Steve a smaller helping of dinner. Smiling sadly, Steve replies “Yeah me too. You guys didn’t need to come over you know; I know I’m pretty terrible company right now.” Danny just looks at Steve, shakes his head and keeps serving slices of lasagne.

“We’re ohana, this is what we do. You would do the same for me in a heartbeat, I know it.” Steve smiles and begins to reply when Grace comes back over with three glasses of milk in her hands, concentration on her face evident as she balances them in her little hands. “Thanks Grace.” Danny and Steve both say at the same time, causing her to smile at them and laugh a little too. Once Grace sits down, they all begin to eat. Comfy silence fills the room; the TV is still on in the other room and a faint murmur can be heard in the dining room. Danny watches Steve out of the corner of his eye to make sure he’s eating, and then shifts over to Grace to see how she’s doing with dinner. As the three begin to finish, Danny gathers all of the dishes, and begins to clean.

“Hey Grace, why don’t you take Uncle Steve out to the beach to make some sandcastles?” he says with his hands in the sink, already washing dishes. Steve is still too quiet for his liking, he still seems a little dazed and maybe some more Grace time will ease his mind. 

Grace jumps at this thought, pushes her chair in and heads for Danny’s car to get her sand toys. Steve is still sitting at the table quietly. Danny keeps doing the dishes and Steve sits at the table, Danny can feel Steve’s eyes on him but doesn’t say anything. Soon, Grace returns with her toys and a huge smile. “I got ‘em Danno.” She says with excitement lacing her voice. “Good job monkey, is it okay if Uncle Steve comes with you still? I’ll come outside and watch from the lanai after I’m done in here okay?” Danny says while turning to look at Grace who is already moving excitedly towards McGarrett. 

“C’mon Uncle Steve!” she says as she pulls on of his hands that was resting on the table, “Go on, McGarrett. I’m almost done the dishes and then I’ll join you out there.” Steve moved slowly, seemingly without a purpose, and followed Grace out to the beach.  
***  
Danny finished the dishes a few minutes later, and headed out to the lanai with a beer in hand. He saw Grace and Steve making a sandcastle, and to his surprise actually saw McGarrett smiling a little bit. 45 minutes and four sandcastles later Danny could see that Steve’s smiles and laughter were genuine. He was happy to see his partner starting to come back out of whatever terrible memories he had fallen into. Danny thinks about how lucky he is to have Grace as his daughter, how she – a small 10-year-old – can help fix his partner who has pretty bad PTSD. For a few minutes, Danny thinks about Grace and gets lost in his thoughts and he can feel himself smiling just a little bit.

“What are you smiling at Danno? Did you miss me or something?” Steve’s voice jolts him out of his thoughts. Danny finds himself smiling more than he was earlier and thinking yeah, actually I did buddy. But instead he says, “Nah.” Steve just smirks at him and so does Grace. Whatever she talked about, whatever she did helped Steve more than he ever could, and for that Danny is grateful. All three of them head inside for some showers and a movie if there’s time.

Steve offers the shower to Grace first, and she gratefully accepts. “You know where I’ll be if you need me monkey. Just call for your Danno.” Danny says out of habit, realizing that he doesn’t really need to say it anymore to his daughter. “Thanks Danno.” Grace says with a smile as she passes him to head to the shower. Danny looks over to Steve who is standing there, looking a little distant still, but smiling at the exchange between Danny and Grace. “Not a word, McGarrett. Not one single word.” Danny says as he takes his shoes off and heads to the couch to sit down, and invites his partner to do the same. Steve snickers, dusts himself off and takes a seat next to his partner. The two sit in silence, both not really paying attention to whatever program is playing softly on the TV. 

Grace emerges from the bathroom a few minutes later, dressed and ready to go. She comes and sits next to Danno with a smile. Danny puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. “It’s about time to take you home, monkey.” Danno says with a sigh, and while noticing that Steve’s attention has now been redirected to Danny and his arm around Grace’s shoulders. Grace pouts just a little bit, but starts to get up to get her stuff from around Steve’s house. “Say thank you to Uncle Steve before you get your stuff please Gracie.” Danny says in his dad voice. Grace gets up fully and walks over to Steve’s side of the couch and leans in to give him a hug. Steve leans down, and gives Grace a hug too. Danny can hear him say a quiet “Thank you” to Grace. Grace just smiles and takes it in stride, she’s off to collect her stuff.

While Grace is getting her other clothes from the bathroom, Danny and Steve sit together in silence. A comfortable silence that gives Danny the chance to really look at Steve. From the military haircut, the bags under his eyes, to the five o clock shadow, Steve looks exhausted. Just as Danny is thinking about how he is going to get his friend to start taking care of himself, Grace enters the room once more with her backpack on her shoulders and her shoes on her feet. “Save me a longboard for later.” Danny says as he gets up and puts his hands on Grace’s shoulders. “Sure thing, buddy.” Comes the quiet reply from Steve who is still a little out of it. As they are leaving, Steve walks them to the door and waves at Grace as her and Danno make the drive back to her mom’s house. 

In the meantime, Steve is once again alone and doesn’t know what to do with himself. Should he risk sleeping and the nightmares that are sure to come with it? Instead, he decides to go for another run to pass the time while Danny is gone. Ever since he met Danny, he’s always been something constant and unwavering in his life. The force of Danny Williams hasn’t given up on him yet, and Steve is honestly not sure why. Shaking his head and getting up, he welcomes the idea of some physical exercise. 

***  
The entire ride back to Rachel’s house Grace is eerily silent. It’s only when they pull up to the gate that she says, “You’re going to go back and take care of Uncle Steve, right? And he’s going to be alright?”. With that, Danny puts the Camero in park and turns his head to look at her with a soft smile, “Of course I am monkey, you know I want to see him better as much as you do”. Grace smiles, satisfied with his answer and unbuckles herself from the seat and pushes her door open. Danny follows, grabbing her stuff in the process and grabs her hand as he walks up to the gate and the buzzer system. Grace presses the button and the housekeeper answers, as soon as she hears the quiet voice of Grace, she opens the gate. Grace turns to Danny who is still holding her backpack, and gives him the biggest hug possible. She’s handed her backpack and sent off with a “Danno loves you”. Danny stands there and watches her until she enters the house, and then heads back to his car. Now begins phase two of taking care of his partner, giving him a few drinks and trying to get him to open up, or at least be willing to try and get some sleep by the end of the night. The drive back to Steve’s is full of endless thoughts and hopes that his partner will be better soon. 

Danny arrives back at Steve’s house only to see that the lights are off, even though it’s beginning to get dark which worries him a little. As Danny parks his care in the drive beside Steve’s truck he tries to reassure himself that everything will be okay, that he must be the strong one today. This time he enters without knocking because Steve knows he was going to come back. Danny wonders around the house, checking each of the rooms for Steve. With no signs of him, he concludes that he must be at the beach, so Danny grabs two beers out of the fridge and makes his way outside. He opens the sliding door, and sees the back of Steve’s head, he’s sitting on a lounger just watching the water. Everything seems alright as he makes his way to Steve and to the other lounger which is right beside him. He’s greeted with a quiet, “Hey Danno, I heard you come in.” and a smile. Danny thinks about how this is an improvement from the earlier version of Steve, as he hands him his beer with a smile and plops himself down next to him. 

“Glad to see you’re feeling a little bit better.” Danny says as he looks at Steve and takes the first sip of his beer. The sun is setting, making the sky a mix between orange and red which is what Steve has been staring at while Danny is making himself comfortable. Steve takes a sip of his beer and breaks his eye contact with the sky and turns to look at Danny, “Uh yeah, thanks”. He says unconvincingly, quietly to Danny and shares a small, private smile with him. Steve rarely smiles these days, and seeing this is a nice change. They both turn away from each other and towards the ocean and the sky, it’s one of those sunsets that breaks your heart in a way because it’s so beautiful. It’s something you want to just quietly watch in comfortable silence. Between that and the sound of the ocean, Danny thinks that this is nice, it’s even peaceful which makes him think about how they don’t get a lot of moments like this anymore. Danny turns his head to look at Steve again, and sure enough Steve is watching the sky and looking at the ocean, the horizon. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Steve says softly as he takes another sip of his beer. Still looking at his partner intently Danny replies, “Because I’m worried about you, ya goof. If that wasn’t obvious already.” And he takes a long drink of his beer to let Steve process what he just said.

Steve takes another drink from his beer too, they’re almost finished them already and will need to get refills soon. But that doesn’t matter right now, Steve thinks to himself. He’s having trouble processing what Danny just shared with him, why would he care so much about someone that is so broken? Just as he begins this spiral into bad thoughts, Danno is right there to pull him back out again. “Tell me what you’re thinking Steve.” Danny smiles softly and puts a hand on Steve’s shoulder to reassure him. “Nothing you wanna hear Danno, trust me.” Steve says with a shake of his head. Danny sighs and gets up, intent on fetching more beer for the two of them, since there was still some light left in the sky. “I’ll be back” Danny says as he’s already headed back to the house. Steve smiles, and closes his eyes just a little bit. He always feels much better when Danny is here with him, even when he hasn’t hardly said two words and knows he is terrible company. 

Minutes later Danny returns with two cold ones to find Steve lightly dozing in his chair. He sits as quietly as possible and takes a sip from his new beer and just watches Steve. He notices his untidy hair, and wrinkled pants which is so unlike him. He notices the bags under his eyes, and just how tired he is. Danny wonders when he slept all the way through the night last, he wonders if he’s even slept at all lately. Quite content to let his friend doze for a bit, Danny turns and watches the last part of the sun disappear into the horizon. There’s no other place he’d rather be right now.


	2. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter where Danny takes care of Steve and Danny thinks about things

“Hey big guy, let’s get you up and to bed”. Steve opens his eyes to look over at a faintly outlined Danny gently touching his shoulder and speaking softly. Steve just looks at him for a minute and smiles at Danny as he tries to blink the sleep out of his eyes. Danny just watches him. 

“How long was I ‘sleep for?” asks Steve with a groggy, sleep riddled voice. Danny just smiles and shakes his head still looking at Steve. “Not long, the sun just set. I wanted to get you inside before you catch a cold.” Replies Danny who finally takes his hand off of Steve’s shoulder and turns to sit on his chair with a smile on his face. Steve rubs the sleep from his eyes, scrunches up his face and stretches out his arms and legs. Steve grunts as he’s stretching and a few joints crack and pop. No one makes a move to get up, there’s a comfortable silence between them and the white noise that the ocean is creating makes everything even more peaceful.

After a minute or so Danny gets up from his chair and offers a hand to Steve to help him up, “Ready to head in?” he asks while looking at a still out of it Steve. Steve nods his head yes and yawns in response as he lifts himself off of the chair. Danny has never seen Steve quite like this before, never really seen the side of him that’s so exhausted. He’s seen plenty of the scary SEAL side where he doesn’t sleep or eat for days on end when something has his attention. Danny decides he likes this side of Steve, it reminds him that Steve is a normal person and that he also has his bad days.

Steve gets up and gives Danny a small smile. Danny gestures for Steve to go first, Steve’s first step is a little wobbly – evidence that he’s still groggy. Danny steps up beside Steve and puts an arm around his shoulder to steady him as they walk into Steve’s house together. 

Steve feels a bit more awake when they enter the house but is secretly grateful for Danny’s arm around his shoulder. The intimacy of the gesture is refreshing to him. It reminds him that Danny cares for him very much. It helps quiet the other things going on in his mind – his fear that he is not good enough for anyone, that all he is good for is letting people down. A thought of his Dad’s death enters his mind, a thought about his dad’s killer – and the floodgates start to open again. Steve makes a noise, something between a grunt and a groan.

“Need anything from down here?” Danny asks Steve who is starting to get lost in his sleepy thoughts again. Steve shakes his head no. He’s afraid that talking will betray how he is really feeling – that Danny will hear his voice break and see him breakdown. Danny nods and continues walking towards the stairs. He gestures for Steve to go first. Steve makes his way slowly, but he finally makes it to his bedroom and flips on the light. Danny follows Steve up the stairs slowly to make sure he doesn’t fall and into Steve’s bedroom to find him already laying down on his bed and half asleep.

“Night Steve, call me if you need anything” Danny says quietly because he’s sure Steve is already asleep. Danny covers him the best he can and makes sure that his cellphone is plugged in next to his bed. Meanwhile, Steve curls into himself as tightly as possible after Danny covers him up and utters a soft, “Love you Danno” before turning over and falling asleep. As Danny starts making his way out of Steve’s room he spares one last glance at his partner, he prays to whatever and whoever is listening to make sure Steve has a peaceful sleep for once in his life as he shuts off the light and closes the door halfway. 

Danny heads back down the stairs as quietly as possible and turns off the rest of the lights in the house, he locks the front door behind him and heads back to his apartment for a much-needed shower before he heads to bed.

***  
After getting out of the shower, Danny takes a second to look at himself in the foggy mirror. He thinks about how his life has changed since moving to Hawaii – how much heartbreak but also how much love he’s felt. He thinks about Steve again, it seems he’s always thinking about Steve these days. He hopes that Steve is still sleeping soundly. 

After getting changed into pyjamas and fixing his hair, Danny finally lays down in bed. He pulls the covers up and hopes that he too can find sleep easily tonight. He closes his eyes and drifts off to thoughts about Grace playing on the beach with Steve and how amazing his little girl was today.

A few hours later Danny wakes with a start – another nightmare. He just can’t get away from all of the bad things that have happened to him, he supposes he has some form or another of PTSD just like Steve.  
Danny turns over to look at the clock which reads 2:11 am. He rolls his eyes and checks his phone, to see if Steve called or texted him. With all quiet on the Steve front, Danny eventually finds a comfy position and drifts back into a light and dreamless sleep.

He wakes up again at 6:30 am. This time too frustrated to go back to sleep he gets up and gets his day started. With automatic movements he brushes his teeth, does his hair and gets dressed. He doesn’t realize he’s on autopilot – that his brain is running a thousand miles an hour while his body is doing things on its own. He realizes for the third time in twenty-four hours that he’s worried about Steve. So, he forgoes the tie today because it’s Sunday and heads over to Steve’s house without a second thought. The drive is quick because there’s no traffic and Danny’s happy about that.

He arrives at Steve’s house which is still dark and silent. A small “huh” escapes his lips as he partially expected Steve to be up at the crack of dawn for his daily swim and jog. Danny hopes he’s still sleeping as he opens the door quietly with his key and toes his shoes off. He sees no sign of Steve being awake and smiles to himself as he heads to the kitchen to put on some coffee.   
***  
Half an hour later, Steve wakes up to the smell of fresh coffee being brewed. The fact that someone else is in his house doesn’t bother him anymore – he knows it’s Danny. He also knows that Danny needs at least two cups of coffee in the morning before he is civil. Steve rolls over and looks at his alarm clock, it’s just after 7 am. He knows he slept in but also doesn’t care because he managed to fight his way through the pull of those memories and the guilt they brought with them. He has Danno to thank for that. 

Steve doesn’t bother changing his clothes or making his bed and heads down to see Danny. He also needs coffee, but it’s mostly to see Danny. When he walks into the kitchen he looks at Danny sitting at his kitchen table, who wordlessly hands him a mug already filled with coffee and offers him a small smile. Steve notices the bags under Danny’s eyes and wonders if they were caused by him. He loses himself in his thoughts while he takes a small sip of coffee and groans a bit because it’s so good.

“That good, huh?” says Danny as he also takes a sip from his half empty mug. “Nothing like a good cup of coffee on a Sunday morning.” Says Steve in response as he sits down at the table across from Danny. “Didn’t know you were one for sentiment, McGarrett” quips Danny back with his tell-tale smirk. Steve just smirks back over the rim of his coffee cup and takes another sip.

A moment of silence passes and then Danny can’t stand it anymore. “How did you sleep? You were pretty out of it last night” he asks, hoping that Steve actually slept. “Best sleep I’ve had in years” comes the reply from Steve. Danny lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, he doesn’t think Steve notices (but Steve does). “What about you? You look like you didn’t sleep at all.” Asks Steve as he puts his coffee cup down on the table and looks over at his partner.

Danny sighs and says, “I had another nightmare again last night.” Steve shakes his head slowly and waits for Danny to elaborate more. “I don’t wanna talk about it, okay?” comes the quiet reply from Danny as he looks away from Steve. “Hey, it’s alright. I get it.” Came the soothing but hesitant voice of Steve, acknowledging Danny’s pain and then, “Let’s talk about something else.”

Both of them take another sip of their coffee at the same time. Both realize that they are comfortable with not saying anything and that just having the other person there is comfort enough. Danny finishes his coffee and gets up to get a refill. Steve takes a big breath in. He feels the need to thank his friend for all that he’s done for him in the last twenty-four hours. He isn’t sure if he would have made it through this alone. 

Danny sits back down and looks at his coffee. Absent mindedly Steve looks down and his hands and starts fidgeting. Danny knows he has something he needs to say. “Out with it McGarrett.” He demands. Steve looks up at him and says, “I uh, just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me in the last little bit. It’s um – I really appreciate it.”.

“Seriously, that’s what you were so nervous about?” Danny laughed, his partner could be such a goof sometimes. Just as Danny opened his mouth to say more Steve stops him with a movement of his hand, “Don’t yell at me Danno, you know how hard it is for me to say things sometimes.” Danny looks over at his partner and smiles. “I wasn’t going to yell at you, ya goof.” Steve chuckles in response and says, “Good”.

Danny breaks the silence between them, “But you know that I will always be here for you Steve, seriously. I’d rather help you out then see you go through this alone. No one deserves that”. Steve re-adjusts his position in his chair and nods, “Thank you, Danny.” They both take another sip of their coffee. Steve is almost done his first cup and is itching to go for a swim. 

“I think I’m going to head out for a swim, it’s going to be too hot soon.” Steve remarks while looking above Danny and out the window at the beautiful day unfolding around them. Danny snorts in response, “Yeah have fun with that.” And then, “Do you mind if I make breakfast, I’m starving and you will be too when you’re done swimming twenty miles or whatever it is you do.” Steve rolls his eyes in response, “Exercise is good for you Danno, you should try it sometime.” Then Steve starts to get up, heading to the sink to put his mug there. “Breakfast?” Danny reminds him of his earlier question. “Knock yourself out Danny.” Comes a reply from Steve who is still busy staring out the window.

Steve heads up to his room to get changed while Danny finishes his coffee in silence. As Steve comes back down, Danny is starting to get the eggs and bacon out of the fridge. As Steve walks by he gives Danny a small smile and Danno just shakes his head and smiles back. 

Danny starts on breakfast and makes the eggs just how Steve likes them without realizing it. The bacon is still sizzling in the pan when it hits him. Being with Steve is where he’s most comfortable, he knows how he takes his coffee, likes his eggs and why he needs so much exercise (to keep his thoughts quiet), he realizes that he might love Steve. With that thought Danny starts to panic a bit and tries to think about anything else. He instead busies himself with turning over the bacon and paying more attention to the eggs so that they don’t burn. Just as the eggs are done and the bacon is done, Steve saunters back in the house (looking too good).

“Smells good in here Danno” he says with a smile as he heads upstairs to shower and change quickly. Danny responds with a “I know it does, so hurry up. I don’t want cold food.”. He knows it sounds like he’s nagging, but it’s not really and it’s too early for that anyway. Danny pours himself his third coffee of the morning, knowing he shouldn’t have another coffee but also not caring because for once in his life he’s realizing and enjoying himself.

A few minutes later Steve comes down the stairs to find Danny sitting at the table sipping on his coffee and scrolling on his phone. He looks content, maybe even at peace, which is a rare thing these days. Steve sits down and Danny looks up. “Feel better?” comes the question from Danny. “Much better.” Says Steve as he looks over at the food still on the stove.

They both start to get up at the same time, “I’ll get it this time Danno” says Steve as Danny slowly sits down with a weird look on his face. It’s silent while Steve serves up the two plates. He comes back to the table and puts Danny’s plate in front of him with a smile. Danny watches Steve take the first bite, hoping to see a small smile spread across his face. A moment later, Steve smiles and says, “You remembered to do the eggs the way I like them.” Danny looks at Steve and says, “Of course I did”.

Steve and Danny enjoy the rest of their meal together, and just as they are cleaning up both of their phones ring. They look at each other with a sad smile, knowing that this is the end of their respite, that duty calls. They both answer their phones as they deposit their dishes in the sink. They get their shoes on and get ready for the day knowing that they can face anything, as long as they do it together.


End file.
